In 1982, three 11-year-old boys became completely obsessed with Raiders of the Lost Ark. The only way they could find to cope with their new all-consuming obsession was to make a doggedly faithful shot-for-shot remake of the film. Over the next seven years, they completed every single scene from the movie, except for one; the intimidating airplane set piece. After years of infighting and struggle and success, the trio walked away from the unfinished project after being at odds over a girl. Their real-life story is like something Steven Spielberg would have directed in the 80s. Naturally, somebody made a documentary about it and that documentary now has a distributor.

Somehow, the boys’ unfinished film made it into the hands of Eli Roth, who passed it along to Harry Knowles for showing at the Fantastic Fest film festival in Austin, Texas where it brought down the house. From there, the search was on for the now-adult kids who made the movie. Eventually, they were reunited to film their final scene and finish the project almost 35 years later. This entire story was captured in a touching, unflinching documentary entitled Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made. Watch the trailer here:

If this documentary looks like something amazing that you have to see, there’s good news! The documentary has been picked up for distribution by Edgar Wright‘s Drafthouse Films, which is known for putting an emphasis on the quality of the often quirky films it distributes.

Here’s the Drafthouse synopsis for the movie:

After Steven Spielberg’s classic film was released almost 35 years ago, three 11-year-old boys from Mississippi set out on what would become a 7-year-long labor of love and tribute to their favorite film: a faithful, shot-for-shot adaptation of the action adventure film. They finished every scene…except one; the film’s explosive airplane setpiece.

Over two decades later, the trio reunited with the original cast members from their childhood in order to complete their masterpiece. Featuring interviews with John Rhys Davies, Eli Roth and more, Raiders! is the story of the project’s culmination, chronicling the friends’ dedication to their artistic vision-mixed in with some movie magic-to create the greatest fan film ever made.

While there is no release date yet, we expect Drafthouse to screen the movie sometime this year along with some streaming on demand choices as well.

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